Display stand for yard goods

ABSTRACT

A yard goods display stand has a vertically extending central support member to which at least two vertically spaced racks are secured; each rack has a series of radial slots therein which extend to the outer edge of the rack and which are vertically aligned with the slots of the other rack to permit insertion of the ends of fabric bolts in opposed slots for support on the stand.

United States Patent 1191 Weinstein et al.

DISPLAY STAND FOR YARD GOODS Inventors: Frank Weinstein, New York; George Mileos, Jackson Heights, both of N Y.; Alan W. Anderson, Rowayton, Conn.

Concord Fabrics, Inc., New York, N.Y.

Filed; Apr. 23, 1971 Appi. No.; 136,729

Assignee:

U.S.Cl 21l/44,2ll/163,3l2/11 Int. Cl. A47f 7/18 Field of Search 211/44, 40, 163,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1950 Fish 211/64 UX 8/1959 Gullixson 2li/40 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Abraham Frankel Attorney-Curtis, Morris & Safford [57] ABSTRACT A yard goods display stand has a vertically extending central support member to which at least two vertically spaced racks are secured; each rack has a series of radial slots therein which extend to the outer edge of the rack and which are vertically aligned with the slots of the other rack to permit insertion of the ends of fabric bolts in opposed slots for support on the stand.

1S Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENIEDDEBI I i815 SIIEEIZUIIZ @LIV 1 DISPLAY STAND -F OR YARD GOODS This invention relates to fabric display stands and, in particular, to a display stand on which a plurality of bolts of fabric are mounted so that all the bolts may be seen and individual bolts may be removed without disturbing the others.

Many methods have been previously proposed for displaying bolts of fabrics utilized in the sale of yard goods. Typically the fabric bolts are stacked horizontally on a table, one upon the other, or they are placed vertically in a stand wherein they lean against each other and the back of the stand. When the fabric bolts are horizontally stacked on a table, each bolt must be removed so that any bolt below it may be viewed by a customer. This requires considerable consumption of time and effort for the customer as well as the sales clerk who must constantly straighten out the stack. On the other hand, when the bolts are arranged vertically adjacent to one another, it is difficult to remove and reinsert a bolt from any portion of the stand without disturbing or shifting the other bolts. Further, with each of these arrangements the bolts easily become disarrayed and present an unsightly appearance to prospective customers.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to store and display bolts of fabric yard goods in a neat and appealing arrangement. Another object of the invention is to permit viewing of a large number of bolts of the displayed yard goods without requiring handling of the goods. A further object of the present invention is to store and display yard goods bolts in a manner wherein each bolt may be removed from the display means without disturbing any other bolts.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention a circular stand is provided on which bolts of fabric are displayed vertically in radial positions so that a customer can see a large portion of the fabric on each bolt without removing it from the stand. Once a bolt has been selected, however, it easily can be removed from the stand without disturbing the adjacent bolts. The stand includes a vertically extending tubular support member on which at least two circular support racks are adjustably mounted in vertically spaced locations. The racks each have slots formed on their vertically opposed horizontal surfaces which are adapted to receive the ends of the fabric bolts. The slots extend radially inwardly from the outer edges of the racks and corresponding slots in each rack are located in vertical alignment so that a fabric bolt may be removably supported therebetween. ln one embodiment of the present invention the tubular support member is rotatably mounted in the base of the stand to permit a customer to rotate the stand and thus view all bolts of fabric on the stand from one position.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a yard goods display stand according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. l, but with the bolt of fabric removed for clarity; and

FIG. 3 is a planar development of a radial sectional view of one of the racks taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, a yard goods display stand l0 Vembodying the present invention, as shown therein, has a base l2 including a vertically extending tubular support member 14 and four spaced racks 16 mounted on member 14 for supporting fabric bolts 18 therebetween. The fabric of bolts 18 is commonly wound on a light-weight supporting mandrel 19, such as of cardboard. The length of mandrel 19 depends on the width of the fabric wound thereon and slightly exceeds that width so that a portion of the mandrel extends from each end of the fabric wound thereon.

In setting up display stand l0, the width of the fabric bolt to be displayed (or the length of the mandrel on which it is wound) must first be determined and racks 16 spaced accordingly to accommodate the bolt. Easy spacing of racks 16 along support member 14 is effected by moving collars 28, which support racks 16, along member 14, where they engage cooperatively with diametrically paired apertures 40 in said member.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, if racks 16 must be moved, nut 39 is flrst removed and bolt 38 withdrawn from paired apertures 40 in support member 14 to permit movement of collar 28 along member 14. lnside edges 33 and 35 of collar 28 may be chamfered to allow smooth movement of the collar along member 14 and also to prevent damage thereto. When rack 16 is in the desired position, bolt 38 is inserted through the appropriate adjacent pair of aligned apertures 40 and nut 39 is replaced. The bolts of fabric 18 then can be inserted into two facing slots 20 of adjacent racks by sliding them in from the open outer end of the slots. The exposed ends of mandrels 19 engage with the slots and the fabric is accepted between the opposing faces 22 of adjacent racks 16.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, display stand 10 is rotatable about its vertical axis to permit ready viewing of fabric bolts mounted thereon. Referring again to FIG. 2, in which this embodiment is shown, lower end 42 of support member 14 is engaged (e.g. by threading) with annular flange 44 attached to the top of upper support plate 46. Support plate 46 is secured to a bearing assembly 43 comprising two similarly shaped reverse-facing plates 48 and 45 having a set of ball bearings 50 therebetween. Facing plate 45 is attached to base plate 51 of base 12 whereby upper plate 48 is free to rotate about pivot axis 49 on bearings 50. Base 12 includes vertical wall 52 which is attached to and extends around the periphery of base plate 51.

Racks 16 may be of any suitable material such as wood, metal or plastic. Because of the weight imparted to the display stand by the fabric displayed thereon, it is preferred to keep the weight of the stand per se to a minimum. FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings show a preferred embodiment in which racks 16 are hollow. Such hollow racks are suitably made, for example, by joining two light-weight annular molded plastic shells.

FIG. 2 shows two such shells joined along peripheral seam 21 and central seam 2l' in a back-to-back relationship to form rack 16 having upper face 22 and lower face 22'. At their center, the shells forming rack 16 surround collar 28 and are supported by flange 30 forming part of the collar. Rack 16 is affixed to collar 28 by bolts 34 extending into flange 30. Spacers 36 surrounding bolts 34 separate and strengthen the shells to prevent collapse thereof upon tightening of bolts 34.

At their periphery, the shells define slots in rack 16. As shown in FIG. 1, and more in detail in FIG. 3, rack 16 may-if of a hollow construction as hereinbefore discussed-be provided with more centrally positioned corrugations 24 which serve to strengthen it. As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 1 of the drawing each of the corrugations 24 respectively extend into an area defined between projections of adjacent slots 20. In addition, these corrugations extend from a centrally depressed area 24', having a lesser thickness than the remainder of the rack (see FIG. 2). The corrugations 24 serve to further strengthen the hollow rack adjacent its connection to the central support 14. The flattened radial sectional view of FIG. 3 best shows the relationship of spaced reinforcing corrugations 24 and slots 20 for receiving fabric bolts in rack 16.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A display stand for bolts of yard goods, comprising a base, a vertically extending support member mounted on said base, and at least two hollow support racks for said bolts of yard goods secured to said support member in vertically spaced relation, said hollow racks being formed of a lightweight material and having slots formed on their opposed horizontally extending surfaces, said slots extending inwardly from the outer edge of their associated rack with corresponding slots in said racks being positioned'in vertical alignment, whereby the ends of a bolt of yard goods may be respectively received in a selected pair of opposed aligned slots for supporting said bolt in the stand; said hollow racks having a plurality of independent corrugations formed therein adjacent to the point of connection of said racks to said support member, thereby to strengthen said racks at said point of connection.

2. A display stand as defined in claim l wherein said racks are generally circular hollow members'each of which has an aperture formed in its center for receiving said support member and includes means for securing the rack to said support member, said slots extending generally radially about the periphery of their associated rack and said corrugations extending radially of their associated rack adjacent said support member, with at least one of said corrugations being located generally in the area between a the extended inner end of each adjacent pair of slots.

3. A display stand as defined in claim 2 wherein said racks each include a centrally located circular area of less thickness than the remainder of the rack, said corrugations extending from said central area into a portion of the remainder of said rack, between adjacent slots, thereby to strengthen said hollow rack.

4. A display stand as defined in claim 3 wherein said hollow racks are formed of a molded plastic material.

5. A display stand as defined in claim 3 wherein said support member comprises a rigid tubular member and said means for securing the racks to the support member comprises a tubular collar receiving said tubular member, said collar including an annular flange extending perpendicularly therefrom, said central circular area of said rack being seated on said flange, and means for securing said rack to said flange.

6. A display stand as defined in claim 5 wherein said means for securing said rack to said flange comprises a plurality of bolts operatively connected between said rack and said flange and a plurality of spacers contained within said rack and individually associated with said bolts for rigidifying said central circular area of said racks. y

7. A display stand as defined in claim 6 including means for varying the vertical position of said racks on said support member.

8. A display stand as defined in claim 7 including means for rotatably mounting said support member on said base.

9. A display stand as defined in claim l wherein said racks are generally circular members having means at their centers for receiving said support member and securing said rack thereto.

l0. A display stand as defined in claim 9 wherein said slots extend radially with respect to said support member.

l1. A display stand as defined in claim l0 including means for rotatably mounting said support member on said base.

12. A display stand as defined in claim 10 wherein said slots are formed on both horizontally extending surfaces of said racks.

13. A display stand as defined in claim 10 wherein said stand includes at least three support racks mounted on said support member in vertically spaced relation.

14. A display stand as defined in claim l0 wherein said means for securing said rack to said support member includes means for selectively varying the vertical position of said racks on said support member.

15. A display stand as defined in claim 14 wherein said support member comprises a rigid tubular member having a plurality of pairs of diametrically-aligned vertically-spaced apertures, and said position varying means comprises a bolt selectively engageable with said apertures. 

1. A display stand for bolts of yard goods, comprising a base, a vertically extending support member mounted on said base, and at least two hollow support racks for said bolts of yard goods secured to said support member in vertically spaced relation, said hollow racks being formed of a lightweight material and having slots formed on their opposed horizontally extending surfaces, said slots extending inwardly from the outer edge of their associated rack with corresponding slots in said racks being positioned in vertical alignment, whereby the ends of a bolt of yard goods may be respectively received in a selected pair of opposed aligned slots for supporting said bolt in the stand; said hollow racks having a plurality of independent corrugations formed therein adjacent to the point of connection of said racks to said support member, thereby to strengthen said racks at said point of connection.
 2. A display stand as defined in claim 1 wherein said racks are generally circular hollow members each of which has an aperture formed in its center for receiving said support member and includes means for securing the rack to said support member, said slots extending generally radially about the periphery of their associated rack and said corrugations extending radially of their associated rack adjacent said support member, with at least one of said corrugations being located generally in the area between a the extended inner end of each adjacent pair of slots.
 3. A display stand as defined in claim 2 wherein said racks each include a centrally located circular area of less thickness than the remainder of the rack, said corrugations extending from said central area into a portion of the remainder of said rack, between adjacent slots, thereby to strengthen said hollow rack.
 4. A display stand as defined in claim 3 wherein said hollow racks are formed of a molded plastic material.
 5. A display stand as defined in claim 3 wherein said support member comprises a rigid tubular member and said means for securing the racks to the support member comprises a tubular collar receiving said tubular member, said collar including an annular flange extending perpendicularly therefrom, said central circular area of said rack being seated on said flange, and means for securing said rack to said flange.
 6. A display stand as defined in claim 5 wherein said means for securing said rack to said flange comprises a plurality of bolts operatively connected between said rack and said flange and a plurality of spacers contained within said rack and individually associated with said bolts for rigidifying said central circular area Of said racks.
 7. A display stand as defined in claim 6 including means for varying the vertical position of said racks on said support member.
 8. A display stand as defined in claim 7 including means for rotatably mounting said support member on said base.
 9. A display stand as defined in claim 1 wherein said racks are generally circular members having means at their centers for receiving said support member and securing said rack thereto.
 10. A display stand as defined in claim 9 wherein said slots extend radially with respect to said support member.
 11. A display stand as defined in claim 10 including means for rotatably mounting said support member on said base.
 12. A display stand as defined in claim 10 wherein said slots are formed on both horizontally extending surfaces of said racks.
 13. A display stand as defined in claim 10 wherein said stand includes at least three support racks mounted on said support member in vertically spaced relation.
 14. A display stand as defined in claim 10 wherein said means for securing said rack to said support member includes means for selectively varying the vertical position of said racks on said support member.
 15. A display stand as defined in claim 14 wherein said support member comprises a rigid tubular member having a plurality of pairs of diametrically-aligned vertically-spaced apertures, and said position varying means comprises a bolt selectively engageable with said apertures. 